Silt fence is a fabric barrier used to restrain movement of surface water and silt around construction projects in order to reduce erosion. The fabric is supplied in rolls and is typically twenty-four to forty-two inches in width. To be properly installed, the lower edge of the barrier must be buried with most of the barrier standing upright above the soil surface.
Installation of the fabric barrier may be accomplished by manually digging a shallow trench to a depth of about twelve inches, unrolling the fabric along the trench, placing the edge of the fabric in the trench, and then refilling the trench. The unburied part of the fabric is then stood upright by fastening its upper part to upright posts placed at intervals along the fence. This is of course very labor intensive.
One machine developed to install a fabric barrier is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,182,459 which shows apparatus mounted beside the front of a tractor and includes a post driving apparatus. Another machine to install silt fence is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,878. This latter machine carries a roll of fabric transverse to the line of travel of the machine and uses a wheel to drive part of the fabric into a trench sliced by the machine.